Abstract

Provider orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) is a medical order set that is signed by a physician, nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant and describes how patients wish to be cared for regarding their medical treatment (or refusal of) during times of serious illness and frailty. POLST provides continuity of care across settings of care, increased quality of life and, improved patient satisfaction. POLST is not readily available in all of the United States, and Flagstaff currently has the only POLST program in the state of Arizona. The purpose of this multi-step doctor of nursing practice (DNP) project was to affect a practice change initiative that increased the awareness and utilization of POLST in Northern Arizona by implementing a POLST protocol at Flagstaff Medical Center (FMC). This included assessing the educational needs of the nursing and medical staff, educating the staff, implementing and evaluating a referral system and supporting patients and their families as well as healthcare providers to continue to use POLST after discharge. As the nursing and medical staff became more comfortable with advance care planning discussions, more POLST appropriate patients were identified and more POLST referrals were brought to the attention of the POLST team.

Dawn M. Rivas

Author Details

Dawn Rivas, RN, MS Inducted member of STTI. If further discussion regarding the manuscript is warranted, please contact the author by email: dawn.rivas@nau.edu

Sigma Membership

Unknown

Lead Author Affiliation

Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Other

Research Approach

Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice

Keywords:

POLST, End-of-Life, Advance Care Planning, Advance Directives, Quality of Life, Palliative Care, Arizona, Advance Care Planning--Arizona, Advance Directives--Arizona

Advisor

Reynolds, Mary Anne

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Northern Arizona University

Degree Year

2017

Rights Holder

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Review Type

Faculty Approved: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

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